A Series of Unfortunate Events – Episodes 3 + 4 Review

Following on from the vein of the first two episodes, Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events tells a familiar story whilst expanding the lore beyond that of what we would otherwise have known at this point in both the books and the 2004 film.

Once again the acting is fine, however, it must be noted that Neil Patrick Harris (Count Olaf) definitely puts in a better showing during the time that he is allowed to interact with Aasif Mandvi who is introduced to the series to play Uncle Monty. The highlight of which comes in two different scenes, one where Patrick Harris is allowed to momentarily break the fourth wall, and the second comes during some interplay with Aasif Mandvi in a cinema screen.

Aasif Mandvi himself is fine as Uncle Monty, he is definitely a strong enough character that his inclusion feels warranted and impactful enough to keep the story moving along. However, I do not feel that we grow attached enough over the two episodes to have the required emotional reactions that the show may ask of you.

With that being said, and taking into consideration the show’s insistence on giving us a peek behind the curtain, so to speak, of what is going on with the Baudelaire parents and the secret organisation that they belong to, it feels as though the show is in a rush to get through the first few books worth of story as quickly as possible. It is understandable, given that the 2004 film is still relatively fresh in the memories of many people and covered the first 3 books, that this new series would want to move ahead of that at a relatively quick pace. But the consequence of that is that the series is beginning to feel as though it is rushing us towards an end game whereby nothing that we are seeing now is of consequence.

However, being 4 episodes in we are only half way through the series and it is entirely possible that the second half of this season could slow down and allow us to really attach to characters that we meet along the way. Or perhaps it will continue to be a four horse show, only time will tell on that front.

But for the most part, these two episodes were certainly more enjoyable that the first pair. The only major negative being that whilst Count Olaf is shining, his crew are beginning to become more annoying than they are funny.